Bisha: American Toyota driver Seth Quintero won the first stage of the Dakar Rally yesterday, the race favourites having eased up so as not to land an unfavourable position for the upcoming 48-hour chrono. Organisers had initially named French Mini driver Guerlain Chicherit as the stage winner. But that was overturned and Quintero credited with victory after recuperating 95 seconds after stopping for an accident.
The American timed 4hr 35min 08sec on the 413km special around Bisha in Saudi Arabia, finishing 45sec ahead of Chicherit, organisers said. Defending champion Carlos Sainz (Ford) came in seventh, while five-time winner Nasser Al Attiyah sat in 20th and his Dacia teammate, nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, in 22nd, 11min 31sec off the lead pace. “It was a stage without problem for us, we didn’t take any risks,” said Loeb.
“The goal wasn’t to set the fastest time, so we decided to stop for a few minutes at the end to lose some time and avoid starting first tomorrow. Everyone played the same game.” Al Attiyah added: “The stage wasn’t easy, but we took it steady and avoided mistakes.
“In the final kilometres, we had a puncture and stopped for about 15 minutes to make sure we secured a starting position well down the order for tomorrow. “We gave up a lot of time, but it was important to do so. If I could start 50th, that would be ideal.
Last year, we took a risk and learned the hard way.” Competitors will on Sunday tackle a 48-hour stage .
